Former Vale CEO Perry Deakin rocks up as nightclub boss
Controversial former Port Vale chief executive Perry Deakin has been named as a franchisee for the Chicago Rock bar chain.
Deakin was linked to a role with the company that manages Oxford Utd’s Kassam stadium earlier this year, but that rumour turned out to be untrue.
Deakin caused much controversy during his time at Vale Park. He apologised after offending non-league neighbours Nantwich Town by withdrawing Vale from a friendly, despite the match being part of the contract for the transfer of defender Ritchie Sutton, shirt sponsors Harlequin Properties took legal action during Deakin’s reign and even the programme manufacturers were upset after they claimed Deakin ‘misrepresented’ projected programme sales.
But perhaps the most damaging aspect of Deakin’s tenure was his part in the Blue Sky fiasco where the board vastly overestimated the value of a commercial tie-in with a US artificial turf manufacturer and the ‘nil-paid’ shares controversy where it was revealed that Deakin and Peter Miller gained election to the Vale board despite not paying for their shares.
These controversies resulted in a Supporters Club poll showing that 93 of Vale fans had no faith in the board and despite calls to stand aside before it was too late, the board’s financial mishandling resulted in the club going into administration.
This week, the club’s administrators revealed that they had spoken to Staffordshire Police about the actions of the club’s previous board, which included Perry Deakin as CEO and director regarding their running of the club and in particular the ‘nil-paid’ shares fiasco.
Administrator Steve Currie said in a press release: “We recognise that the actions of the previous directors are of concern to fans – many of whom have lost out as a result of their investment in shares in Valiant 2001 – and we are doing everything we can to assist the police in their investigations.”
According to a news release on the Atmosphere Bars (the company that operates the Chicago Rock brand in the UK) website Deakin has moved from football to bars and clubs.
The feature notes: “Atmosphere Bars & Clubs, the 26-strong nightclub operator backed by Sun Capital Partners, is looking to rollout its Chicago Rock brand via franchise to 50 sites within the next three years, chief executive Paul Harbottle has told M&C Report.
The company has already signed up its first franchisee: Perry Deakin, former chief executive of Port Vale Football Club, which was placed in administration earlier this year.
Harbottle said Atmosphere has employed franchise experts Shoosmiths to help with the project. He hopes to have the first franchise site in operation by the end of this year.”
There are no details on which particular franchise Deakin will take over.
Board senseless
Lack of space prevents us updating you on all the antics of the previous board (Messrs Miller, Oliver, Lloyd and Deakin) so instead we suggest you read the following links:
- Board misconduct timeline
- Stories tagged with ‘board misconduct’
- Get out of Port Vale website